I Remember Nótt
by DarkInTheLight
Summary: Loki's heart broke the day his only love and the Goddess of Night, Nótt, jumped from the Bifrost. SHIELD assassin Twyla Hartall has worked for the America government for 80 years and has no memories prior to waking up in 1854 in England. When Loki claims she is Nótt, Twyla falls into despair unsure if she is a SHIELD agent or the lost goddess in love with Loki. Avengers & beyond.
1. Jumping For Whats Right

Jumping For What's Right

Asgard was lit up in a great golden glory, under the night sky as the stars shone brightly as if to compete with the city lights. Garlands were strung up over the pillars, a great table stretched out in the hall baring the finest foods of Asgard and an alter made from the richest trees and flowers stood where the thrones once were. People walked around with smiling faces happy at the wedding taking place in kingdom. The servants were dressed in fine green tunics as they continued with chores, setting everything up for the ceremony and after party. Plenty of wine for Thor and the warriors three. Plenty of dishes without meat as Sif was training for a great dual soon and did not wish to consume any animal until then. Special goblets were placed on the table for the royal family.

Everyone was quite happy until the bride came riding out on her steed in the middle of preparations. Nótt the goddess of the night rode away from the city pursued by the guards who were on foot. They soon lost her as she rode towards the Bifrost. The people of Asgard stood opened mouthed at the lady's actions unsure why the goddess ran from the wedding. Surely she would be happy on this day; Nótt had been betrothed to her suitor since childhood. This should be a joyous occasion not one where she would run from. Soon the Allfather himself, Thor, Loki and the bridegroom Dagr rode after the runaway Goddess with a few of the guards.

Nótt sat upon her steed clad in a simple white gown made from the finest silk; it billowed behind her like wings. Her hair dark as the night itself blew loosely behind her, a garland of flowers perched on her head. The goddess of night glanced behind for a moment seeing the pursuers draw closer.

"Please, faster Hrímfaxi, they are almost upon us!" cried Nótt, stroking her horses black mane. Hrímfaxi neighed thundering up the Bifrost ploughing ahead of the other horses. The pursers became annoyed with the chase. Loki was the only one who seemed worried.

"Do not worry Dagr, I shall stop her," shouted Thor, twirling a slingshot above his head. Loki looked on despair.

"Brother no," yelled the god of mischief. To late the slingshot shot ahead, catching the goddess's horse by the hind legs. They fell on the bridge, Nótt flying backwards almost sliding off the edge. Hrímfaxi cried out in pain as he fell onto the Bifrost. Nótt regained her senses crawling over to the horse that lay on his side for a moment before getting up.

"I am sorry dear friend for getting you hurt like that," she said, stroking his legs while untangling the slingshot.

The riders dismounted circling the fallen goddess like a pride of lions drawing closer to their prey. Nótt stumbled backwards staring over the edge of the Bifrost. She was only greeted by the darkness below.

"There is nowhere else to go child," said Odin, getting closer. Nótt glared over, the expression marring her pretty face. Darkness and shadows pooled around her feet, daring the men to get any closer. Loki stared on worry, hurt and sorrow passing over his face.

"It has always been that you are to marry Dagr," said the Allfather, stepping backwards as the shadows snapped like a whip at him.

"Did you ask if I wanted to marry him? No. I was but a child when this farce was arranged. I love him not. Would you ideally sit by while a maid is forced to lose her maidenhood?" challenged the goddess, daring the Allfather to say anything to that. He sadly gazed at her as if she were a child that understood little.

"Please Nótt, could you not grow to love me?" asked Dagr, smiling over at her. Nótt dismissively sniffed at the god of day.

"Love the man who as child teased and mocked me. Who burnt my hair for fun? Who is nothing but an arrogant, weak willed quim who hides behind the bigger gods to gain power? No I can never love you," she said. Dagr jetted forward in a rage only for Hrímfaxi to kick him right in the chest. Nótt patted her steed in thanks while the guards helped a fuming Dagr up. Thor stepped forward in the hope he could talk some sense into her.

"Sister, would you try to escape fate?" asked Thor, stepping away from the horse that pawed angrily at the floor.

"Thor, brother, I love you but you do not understand. This is not fate. It is a punishment," answered the night goddess. Odin waved his hand, the darkness around Nótt's feet fading away. The goddess stared down in a panic.

"You cannot run from this child, you have nowhere else to go," stated Odin. Loki stepped forward unable to stay quiet away longer.

"Father, please," the prince begged.

"Please Loki? Please may the betrothal be broken so you may marry the girl. No, this will not be," said the Allfather. Nótt glanced behind staring at the dark below and back at those who surrounded her. The goddess straightened her back some more at her captors as they draw in closer.

"I will decide my fate. I choose not to be raped by a man I cannot love," she declared. Nótt darted forward quickly kissing Loki on the lips.

"I am so sorry, I love you" whispered Nótt, a tear rolling down her pale face. Loki stared down confused as the goddess pushed him away.

"Today, I decide what I do," said Nótt, edging closer to the Bifrost edge. With one last sad stare at Loki, Nótt spread out her arms and fell into the void with Loki's screams following her.

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Twyla Hartall woke up with a start, her alarm clock bleating out with an annoying sound to wake her. The dream quickly faded away like water flowing into a drain. The alarm kept singing out the annoying tune. Grumbling Twyla pushed on the button and flopped back into the bed. The early morning sunlight poured in on the small room cluttered with clothes and weapons. A suitcase sat in the corner of the bedroom with clothes spilling out. The bedroom wasn't very outstanding. The walls were a faceless white colour, barely any decorations in the ten years Twyla had lived there. One wall held many photographs taken by Twyla, the only evidence that she particularly cared about something. They held smiling agents such as Maria Hill and Phil Coulson. Fury would glare into the camera while Twyla gave thumbs up in a mocking way. Tony Stark appeared always posing in a silly fashion. Black Widow held her hand up shielding her face and Clint just lightly smiled. Those were the precious things to Twyla, the memories.

"Hey, don't fall back asleep we have to go to base," said Phil Coulson, from the doorway, staring at the dark haired woman lounging on the bed. Twyla had given Phil a key the day she moved in. He visited often for movie nights or Doctor Who marathons. Now he stared at his partner lying in the bed wearing only a small purple tank top and SpongeBob underwear. Chain tattoo's zigzagged across her entire body starting from her ankles, ending on her shoulder blades. Phil rolled his eyes.

"Come on, five more minutes, I'm still tired from the flight here. You're the one who let the Tesseract slip through your fingers," complained the SHIELD employee hiding under the bed sheets. Phil came over and pulled the bed sheets off her. Twyla curled up into a ball in response.

"We have to go pick up the Captain and bring him to base," said Phil, finding clean clothes on the floor and throwing clothes at Twyla.

"Can't be late, gotta impress your man crush," grumbled Twyla, pulling off her pyjamas. Phil threw a pillow in response causing Twyla's short hair to stick up awkwardly.

The two agents had been best friends since Twyla was brought over to Fury's diversion. At first they were at odds over the little things, then finally found common ground and became great friends. Of course, they also used to have lots of hyped filled sex when Phil was younger but stopped after he turned thirty-seven. Phil found it unnerving that Twyla never aged passed twenty-five even though she was older than anyone in SHIELD. The agent only remembered waking in a village somewhere in England in the eighteen-fifties with no memory of how she got there. That's why she had so many photos on the walls. In case in the memory loss happened again and she could prompt herself with the photos. Before landing in England, Twyla claimed was just a blank space. She had no memoires, no idea of who she truly was or where she came from. The only thing she knew was that she had a terrible dark power that managed to total a small village. Twyla told Phil she spent a good twenty years avoiding people because she couldn't control her power. Another thirty years studying all sorts of fighting styles and then finally settling in a peaceful place. The chain tattoos were in place to lock away the power, keeping it within. After that was done, she quite happily lived up mountain for twenty years. It all changed when rumours about her started flying around the world. The America government found her in a Chinese monastery in the twenties following rumours of an ageless warrior on the mountain.

With the promise of the monks being left in peace, Twyla agreed to work for them. Eighty years into the job, Twyla was a formidable fighter. She preferred hand to hand combat over using the powers she had. Twyla didn't like to admit it but they scared her. The katanas she owned were perfectly fine for combat. When not out on a mission, she would take time to train the recruits. Even taught Fury in a couple of things when he started out. They constantly butted heads over things though causing a rift between the two. It's not like they didn't get along but Twyla liked teasing Fury which in turn annoyed him. Twyla came back into her apartment, yawning as she pulled a black tank top over her lacy black bra. Since they knew each other intimately, Twyla didn't really care Phil seeing it all over again.

"How's the relationship going?" asked Twyla, vaguely remembering Phil mentioning a woman. She played some sort of string instrument.

"She moved back to Portland," answered Phil, while Twyla pulled on and laced up her combat boots.

"Sucks to be her then," retorted Twyla, giving Phil a friendly punch on the arm.

They excited the apartment complex, diving into the car provided for them. Phil dumped Twyla's small suitcase in the trunk before getting in. Twyla gazed out the window, nervously toying with the katanas. She had been pulled out of mission in Africa for this. They really must be desperate for help. Working for SHIELD was a life time thing. You either worked there until died of old age or until something killed you off. Twyla hoped that one day she could escape. As far as she knew, Twyla was an immortal. Spending an eternity as SHIELDS personal bitch monkey didn't sound fun at all. Plus, having to watch Phil age away and then die seemed too painful to watch.

"So, what git stole the Tesseract?" asked Twyla.

"Did you read the debriefing?" countered Phil, raising an eyebrow at his friend. Twyla shrugged smiling mischievously.

"They were playing Finding Nemo on the plane, I got side tracked,"

"You passed off the files for a movie…"

"Dude, its Pixar movie and Dory is awesome,"

Phil face palmed at Twyla's antics clearly not impressed by her lack of care. Sometimes when Twyla didn't want to do something she made it clear. Apparently reading the files he sent over was one of them.

"An Asgardin like Thor has come to Earth with intentions to declare war on us. Clint and Dr Selvig have been compromised, the Avengers are being rebooted. Fury has called in Iron Man, Black Widow, Dr Banner and Captain America for this task. However, he believes you can also help," summarised Phil "we're on our way to the jet to pick up the Captain and- for the love of- Twyla stop playing Pokémon while I debrief you!"

Twyla looked up from her DS sheepishly while Phil glared at her. She had pulled it out while Phil talked about the Avengers.

"I was levelling up my chamander," she said. Phil held out his hand eyebrows raised. Twyla grumbled shutting the lid and handing over the console.

"You'll get this back when the world stops being in danger," said Phil, tucking the DS into jacket pocket. Twyla leaned back on her seat, staring at the car roof.

"Hey Phil, are we a lot of trouble then?" asked Twyla.

"We called you and the hulk in,"

"Wow, guess the world is in deep shit,"

"Yup."

They sat in silence for the rest of the car ride staring out their own windows.

_**So, that's Twyla, she has a crap attention span. And can be a bit annoying at times. Hoped you liked it. Thoughts? Comments? I'll be glad to read them.**_


	2. Who You Are

Who You Are

Twyla lay on the Helcarriers top, hiding underneath one of the jets in the shade wearing sunglasses. The sun wanted to say hello even more so today as it shone brightly bathing everyone in rays. Not everyone liked sunlight. Retreating into the shade seemed the only logical thing to do. Twyla wasn't so much a day person, liking to wander around in the night more. It comforted her in weird way. It wasn't all bad. The trip to the Helcarrier had been fun; watching Phil fawn over the Captain and try not to be awkward was funny to watch. Of course, it would have been great if she had the DS. No way in hell would Twyla let that little jerk cluster of data beat her. Damn Gary Oak. The soldiers all paraded up and down the Helcarrier, checking all the jets and the weapons making sure nothing would go wrong.

Natasha gazed under the jet wing seeing Twyla sprawled out on the floor while Dr Banner and Captain America talked. The dark haired agent lay back while everyone else did the work. Twyla rarely did anything unless directly ordered to and even then she argued with Fury about it. Being a hundred and sixty sure makes you cranky.

"I think you're meant to sunbath in the sun," said Natasha, taking off Twyla's glasses and half smiling at her.

"Yeah, well, I'm shade bathing. That way I can keep my milky complexion," said Twyla, trying the snatch the glasses without getting up.

"Come on, Shadow, we've got work to do," said the red head. Natasha held Twyla's glasses for ransom walking towards the Captain and the doctor, Twyla trailed behind grumbling.

"This must all seem strange to you," said Bruce Banner, nervously ringing his hands.

"Actually, it's all very familiar," said Steve, staring at the soldiers running passed. Twyla poked Natasha behind the shoulder blades.

"Can I have my glasses back now?" she asked. Bruce stared over at the grumpy looking agent.

"Who might you be?" asked Bruce, staring at Twyla's short stature. Natasha handed back the glasses smiling lightly. Twyla put them back on staring at man who transformed into Hulk. He seemed so… normal.

"Oh, I'm just the elite assassin SHIELD sends off all over the world to gut people they don't like," stated Twyla, hearing alarms go off.

"It's nice you're so honest," mumbled Bruce.

"You might want to step inside in a minute. It's going to get a little hard to breathe," said Natasha, eyeing the edge of the Helcarrier. Steve stared over the edge completely fascinated by what was happening. The water below started churning up below.

"Is this a submarine?" asked Steve, eyes widening in wonder.

"Really? They want me submerged in a pressurized metal container?" asked Bruce, sounding a little sarcastic. The Helcarrier started to rise out from the water revealing the engines.

"Oh no, this is much worse," commented Bruce, beginning to retreat inside with the other three.

All four of them walked in, the SHIELD employees staring at them in awe and fear. Steve kept nervously eyeing the woman beside him. Twyla Hartall was somewhat of a legend or nightmare tale, depending on how you looked at it. Apparently she walked the thin line of brilliant warrior to insane mass murderer. Hopefully she would remain on their side although Fury instructed if that were to change, Twyla must be taken out by any means possible. Hard to believe she's lived so long. Twyla had been in Mexico trying to defend the small town against a creature sent by Asgard only to be kicked through someone's store. At least she could be hurt, best not to bring that subject up since it was still a sore spot for her. They entered the bridge seeing everyone set up for the journey ahead, Maria Hill shouted orders while Fury stood watching everything carefully like an over bearing parent. Steve stepped forward staring around in awe, he took a role of money and handed Fury ten dollars. Twyla sat on the nearest comfy seat and leaned back. Fury glared over while walking towards Bruce.

"Agent, will you please take this seriously?" he snapped at Twyla.

"When there's something for me to do, I'll be as serious as you like. Until then I'm gonna relax," answered Twyla, spinning around the chair. Nearby, Phil tried not to face palm again. Out of their friendship, he'd been burdened with being the sensible one. Twyla just mucked around and treated a lot of things as a joke. Only when out on the field did she truly take anything seriously. The switch was terrifying to watch.

"Doctor, thank you for coming," said Fury, shaking the man's hand who peered nervously at all the soldiers walking around.

"Thanks for asking nicely. So, uh... how long am I staying?" asked Bruce. Natasha wandered off to a computer looking at the tracking signal trying to pinpoint Clint.

"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the clear."

"Where are you with that?"

Twyla quickly grew bored of having everything explained over again, stalking off to the computers which searched for the man, god thing who stole the Tesseract. He actually looked kinda pretty in an 'I'm evil hell bent on ruling you all' sort of way. Something started stirring in Twyla's head as she stared Loki's photo, the dream from this morning… it was so faint now but it prickled inside her head. What was it? Horses. An elderly man. The night sky…

"Agent Hartall!" yelled Fury, making Twyla jump out her daydream. Frowning, the agent turned meeting the Directors glare.

"What did I do now?" she asked, expecting Fury to come with some annoying little thing to pick at.

"Where is your uniform?" demanded Fury. Twyla stared down at her knee high boots, black shorts and black tank top and shrugged.

"I'm a hundred and sixty; maybe I shouldn't be wearing the cat suit," said Twyla, smiling up at the boss. Steve looked away, hiding his amusement from the angry Director. The other agents on computers knew to continue working and ignore the argument ahead. Fury glowered some more. Twyla folded her arms in response not backing down.

"I'm not wearing it," said Twyla "you get to wear your cool billowy coat to work."

"That's because I'm charge,"

"I have a hundred years more experience than you,"

"You are not responsible enough for this job,"

"… yeah, that's probably true,"

"Sir, we have a match," said the agent looking for Loki. They all turned to the computer screen staring at a man in Germany walk into some sort of gala. He looked rather nice in a suit.

"He's not exactly hiding," stated Steve.

"Yeah, well, he's a massive attention seeker," said Twyla, looking at Loki strut his way through the crowd. Steve raised an eyebrow at her.

"He send a friggin' laser monster down to earth, if that doesn't have 'I have attention issues' stamped on his forehead I don't know what else will highlight that fact," said Twyla walking off towards the doors.

"Where do you think you're going Agent?" asked Fury, eyeing the dark haired woman who slowly kept walking to the doors.

"To the jet, you know, off to Germany an' all," she said.

"Put the suit on,"

"But we could miss Loki by waiting for me to put on the suit,"

"Goddamnit Hartall go put that fuc-"

Too late, Twyla was dancing out the doors singing something along the lines of 'you can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man'. The other agents sniggered at her antics, then saw the expression on Fury's face and quickly went back to work.

"How do you put up with her?" Maria Hill asked Phil who was standing in a quiet spot shaking his head.

"With endless amounts of patience and the occasional taser,"

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Twyla skirted around edge of the gala area watching the rich people mill around, eating hors d'oeuvres and obnoxiously swirling wine around their glasses. Seriously, how the hell can you act like that!? The hall buzzed with ideal chatter while the orchestra played light happy tunes. Twyla wished she was in the jet now. Watching these people was getting really annoying. Natasha had dropped Twyla off on the gala hall rooftop, allowing the agent to blend in with the shadows and travel among the attendees undetected. Twyla wore a plain masquerade mask over the top half of her face just in case someone did spot her, she wouldn't be identified. Perching on the edge of the barrister, Twyla watched everything below. Yup, peacefully getting along, the women mocking their husbands or some poor lady who wore a dress that clearly didn't go with her complexion. The men were all having a massive bragging contest about some new toy or car. The guy running the show was beginning to make some speech.

Everything seemed to be going right until the screaming started. The head honcho who threw the ball was being man handled through the panicking crowd. Twyla gazed down trying to pinpoint the man through the running crowd. Loki was taking some sort of blending device to the guy's eye watching in great pleasure as everyone fearfully ran around. Twyla jumped from the barrister as Loki exited the building after all the fleeing people. She ran over to the guy in charge, her stomach churning a little at the massacred socket. Approaching slowly, Twyla tried avoiding pieces of eyeball and flesh painting the artefact the man lay on. She felt his pulse, sighing with relief as it beat steady. Crashing sounds came from outside causing Twyla to leave the injured man. Police cars were burning on the street, people were running around like headless chickens and Loki was talking to an old man who decided to stand against him.

"Look to your elder, people. Let him be an example," said Loki, pointing a sceptre at the old man.

"Stop speaking English to a German crowd you raving twazac!" yelled Twyla, Loki turned seeing the woman run towards him, katanas at the ready. His lip curled into a snarl, turning from the old man and aiming at the agent. Steve's shield hit Loki forcing the god onto the ground.

"You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing," said Steve, catching his SHIELD as people started running away from the scene.

"The soldier. A man out of time," said Loki, turning to smile at Twyla "and the dark assassin."

"I'm not the one who's out of time," stated Steve.

"I do kill people for a living," said Twyla, earning a quizzing eyebrow from Steve. Twyla shrugged in response. Natasha pulled into the air space above the trio, aiming the guns at Loki.

"Loki put the spectre down," said Natasha. Loki looked at the spectre for a moment then aimed a blast at the jet, narrowly missing it. He swung at Twyla who parried the blow but got kicked backwards onto the stairs.

"I wish things would stop doing that," grumbled Twyla, diving out the way of a blast. Steve battled the God of Mischief while Twyla jumped back onto her feet.

"Kneel!" commanded Loki, pressing the sceptre end onto Steve's skull. Steve knocked inside, aiming a punch which the God dodged. Twyla jumped up kicking Loki between the shoulder blades sending him flying. Loki stood up aiming another blast at the agent. AC/DC's song 'shoot to thrill' played over head making Twyla stare up in confusion for a moment. Tony Stark appeared hitting Loki squarely in the chest, sending him back onto the ground. Tony aimed all the suits weapons at the God.

"Make a move reindeer games," said Tony. Loki slowly held up his hands, his armour fading away.

"Good move," said Tony.

"Nice entrance Tony," said Twyla, holding her hand up for a high five. Tony obliged then grabbed Twyla in a headlock ruffling her hair while the captain escorted Loki into the jet.

"How's my favourite little agent doing?" asked Tony, releasing Twyla how his grip.

"You should treat your elders better, boy," joked Twyla, prodding Tony in the chest.

"Yeah, we should think about putting you in a retire home, what are you a hundred and sixty-four now?" quipped Tony. Twyla laughed taking a seat opposite Loki who appeared to be sulking about being captured.

"I don't like it," murmured Steve, addressing Tony while Twyla checked her katanas.

"What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?" said Tony. Loki glared over Twyla while the two men had their conversation. Twyla flipped out her phone starting to play Angry Birds in the wait back to the Helcarrier. Loki kept staring making Twyla feel a little unnerved. Suddenly, the jet dived a little, lighting striking across the sky. Natasha leaned forward staring at the gathering clouds.

"Where did this come from?" questioned Natasha. Twyla put away her phone and joined the other three staring outside. Loki leaned forward, facial expression changing into that if worry.

"What's the matter? Scared of a little lightening?" asked Steve.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows," answered Loki.

Right on cue, the jet dipped again as something landed on top. The doors opened up revealing large blonde haired man. He grabbed Loki, swung the hammer he held and dived out the jet.

"Well, that went well," said Twyla as Tony stepped forward towards the open back.

"Wait Stark, we need a plan of a attack," said the Captain.

"I have a plan, attack," said Tony disappearing for the jet. Twyla stared out the open back wondering if she should follow.

"You should sit this one out Captain. Those guys come from legends, their basically Gods," said Natasha, as Steve strapped a parachute to himself.

"There's only one God ma'am and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that," said Steve before diving out the jet. Twyla shrugged over at Natasha who sat there shaking her head.

"I better go to, you know what guys are like," said Twyla, running up the jet and diving out. The air ripped at Twyla's clothes as she spread out her arms free falling to the ground. Shadows began to gather around her back creating the support she needed to not meet the ground in a rough manner. She didn't use her power very often, only able to control a small amount of it at a time. Scanning over the treeline, Twyla spotted the new guy and Tony fighting it. She decided her swords weren't needed in a fight with a guy who could summon lightening. Instead she found Loki gleefully watching the fight from a safe distance. She landed a little too roughly behind the God of Mischief, rolling onto the ground.

Standing up with all the dignity she could muster, Twyla stared confused at Loki.

"Ok, it's a bit weird you sitting here when you have the opportunity to escape," said Twyla, sitting down beside the God who stared at her scornfully.

"We are not equals woman," snapped Loki, clearly annoyed by her laid back approach.

"No, we're enemies. I'm just not scared of you," said Twyla, watching nearby trees fall down. Twyla made a mental note to tell Tony to replant the trees he knocked down when his is over.

"Could split your skull open in a heartbeat mortal," snapped Loki, glaring at the masked assassin.

"And I'm sure you could rip my guts around and play bass on them too," retorted Twyla, leaning against the nearest rock.

"Don't mock me or I'll-"

"Rip out my tongue and wear it as a hat?"

Loki fell silent glowering at Twyla who happily smiled over without a care in the world. She was just going to watch him until the guys get back. It did seem a little too easy and the God of Mischief patiently sat down as if waiting for a ride home. What a weirdo.

"If you don't fear me, why the mask?" asked Loki, staring into the distant as Steve landed into a nearby clearing.

"I wear it to protect my identity," answered Twyla.

"Or to hide it,"

"Ok Mr Daddy issues, stop flipping my words around,"

"Have I vexed you, killer? I believe you wear the mask in fear. Fear of someone finding out who you truly are. The shadow who comes in at night and leaves a bloody corpse behind. You wear the mask so no one will take out true vengeance on you,"

Twyla looked over in a bored manner but her beat rapidly against her chest. Loki sure had a way of getting under the skin. With one smooth motion, Twyla lifted off the mask, glaring at Loki.

"Are you done with the monologue? Jeez, maybe you should a Shakespearean actor instead of an evil villain," said Twyla. Loki sat dumbstruck, his eyes widening in shock. Twyla looked behind her wondering if a wolf or something was sneaking up on them.

"What is there something on my face?" asked Twyla, confused by Loki's mood change. The guy was sure bi-polar about things.

"Nótt ," said Loki, getting closer to Twyla who back peddled in confusion. The green eyed God draw in closer staring intently at Twyla as if trying to decide if she were real or not.

"Hey, stay back you weirdo. Not what?" she said. Loki stepped forward, hands out stretched. Twyla didn't know why but she let him touch her face. His hands were cold and gently as they explored her ears, lips and neck. Twyla tried not shiver as he softly touched a few scars or stare intensely into her eyes.

"This is no trick," stated Loki, tracing a thin scar over her collar bone that had been there since Twyla could remember.

The next thing she knew Loki was pulling her into a tight embrace. His arms softly cradling her. It felt strange and oddly familiar to have the enemy hug her.

"I thought I lost you," he whispered. Finally Twyla's brain kicked in screaming at her this was a weird idea and it shouldn't be happening. Pushing against him, Twyla broke off the embrace hoping he couldn't see her blush in the dark.

"What are you doing you psycho, first your all acting like I'm the thing on the bottom of your shoe and then fawning all over me?" snapped Twyla.

"I thought you were just a SHIELD mongrel if I'd known it were you Nótt," said Loki, smiling for the first time in happy fashion rather than getting off on the chaos he caused.

"Who is Nótt? I don't know if you know but my name is Twyla," said Twyla, really getting freaked out by Loki's behaviour. She liked it better when he was in threatening mode.

"Of course, the fall from the Bifrost must have been too much. You've forgotten everything," stated Loki "I know who are and you are not Twyla."

"Then who am I?" asked Twyla, feeling very nervous.

"You are Nótt Goddess of Night and my lover."

Twyla didn't speak for a few moments choosing to sit on the nearest rock trying to process everything in her head.

"Well, fuck," was all she manage.

_**Well, Twyla was not expecting that one. She'll be dealing with that one in a bit and Fury probably flipping his lid over the news. Thanks for reading. **_


	3. These Memories Lost

These Memories Lost

"Lady Nótt! I am overjoyed to see you alive!" yelled Thor, picking Twyla up and giving her a big hug. Twyla choked feeling all oxygen escape and ribs begin to stab with pain. Thor had been talking Twyla the entire flight back to the Helcarrier while Loki went back to his stony faced expression, avoiding all eye contact with Twyla. After the guys came back from fighting it out, they found the Loki and Twyla staring at opposite sides of the forest. Thor acted like a child at Christmas after seeing Twyla. Now, he kept hugging and looked close to tears whenever they made eye contact. Twyla struggled out Thor's bear hug, straightening out her now ruffled hair.

"Ok, next person to do that I'm stabbing them with a sword," said Twyla, pointedly glaring at Thor who sheepishly looked as his feet. Tony smiled moving forwards with his arms outstretched. Twyla span on her heel round house kicking Tony in the face. Since he had the suit on it didn't hurt much but Tony still wandered off annoyed.

"And the name is Twyla," she told Thor.

"But-" started off the Thunder God as they walked into the bridge. Twyla cut him off already pissed off at being hugged a lot. The guy sure knew how to invade someone's personal boundaries. Must be an Asgardin thing since Loki got all handsy as to.

"I have no memory of being this Nótt person. For now, I'd prefer it if you called me Twyla," she explained. Thor nodded understanding as Natasha appeared behind the dark haired woman in a concerned manner.

"Do you really think you're this Nótt goddess?" asked the Black Widow, staring in a concerned manner. Twyla shrugged unsure about the whole thing herself.

"I don't think Thor would lie and you should have seen Loki when I took the mask off, it's like he'd seen a ghost. Then he started acting really weird," explained Twyla "he even said we were lovers." Natasha pulled a face in sympathy, knowing Twyla's pain in finally finding out who she truly was only for it to have an annoying twist.

"Bet Coulson would be over joyed to hear that," replied Natasha patting Twyla on the back. The two women basically shared everything; there were only so many things Twyla could talk to Phil about. Sometimes she needed girl talk. She tried to do this with Maria Hill but that didn't go well. The agent liked Fury to much kinda like a puppy following after an older dog. If Fury didn't get along with Twyla, Maria would do the same thing. Bit bitchy but Twyla didn't mind. Maria sometimes forgot and would be nice.

"Over joyed to hear what?" asked Phil, appearing beside the two women. Twyla panicked feeling like a deer in the head lights as Natasha walked off not wanting to be dragged into this. Fury was busy throwing Loki in the cage designed for Bruce and he would be even more furious than Phil over the little fact on whom Twyla was.

"Isn't it wonderful, son of Coul, I found a fellow Asgardin and lost sister," cried Thor, swinging a massive arm over Twyla's shoulder who in turn back flipped the Thunder God onto the ground. Thor wasn't happy about being bested by Twyla who ignored him once he was on the floor.

"What does he mean Asgardin and sister?" inquired Phil, ignoring Thor on the floor. Twyla toyed with a strand of hair like she did whenever she got nervous.

"I think he means sister in a spiritual sense," said Twyla.

"And the Asgardin part?"

"Um, well, Thor seems to think I'm a goddess named Nótt, who jumped off the Bifrost in a bid to not marry a man I didn't love and um, also, I um, did it for Loki because we apparently were in love," answered Twyla mumbling the last part.

Phil stood there for a moment unsure on how to proceed with this fact. The he burst into a fits of laughter leaning against the wall for support. He then saw Twyla's unamused face and laughed harder.

"Phil, this isn't funny, I've spent hundred and sixty years trying to find who I was, now I'm a long lost goddess who is meant to be in love with the psycho who declared war on the planet," shouted Twyla. Phil straightened up, trying to stop smiling but it wasn't really getting far. Annoyed, Twyla stomped off over towards the main table, taking a seat next to Steve. They were all watching Fury finish talking with Loki in the cage.

"He really grows on you doesn't he," said Bruce, toying with his glasses.

"Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play?" asked Steve, staring over at the now thoughtful Thunder God.

"He has an army called the Chitauri, that none of Asgard nor any world know. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the earth. Return, I suspect, for the Tesseract," explained Thor.

"An army, from outer space?" questioned Steve.

"Wow, this got a bit sci-fi," said Twyla, twirling a strand of hair while Natasha filled Thor in on poor Dr Selvig's condition. Bruce scratched his head lightly smiling at Twyla. Steve was trying to work out Loki's game play while Twyla started twirling on her chair again out of boredom.

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him," stated Bruce. Thor turned to the doctor clearly not impressed by his tone.

"I don't care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother," said Thor.

"He killed eighty people in two days," said Natasha not looking up at the Thunder god who appeared nervous.

"He's adopted," Thor quickly added. Twyla snorted, pushing herself around some more before Natasha got annoyed and put a stop to it.

Tony Stark strutted in, grabbing everyone's attention and starting off a bromance with Bruce. Twyla wasn't really paying attention to the whole thing watching as Loki paced around in his cell on the table monitors. Her curiosity had been eating away at her since the hill incident. Thor could only fill in some many gaps. Plus, Loki was in a cage so Twyla wouldn't have her boundaries breached. People of Asgard were so touchy feely. She gazed around, noticing everyone staring at Tony and listening to what he had to say. Twyla slipped out the room quietly as Steve proudly declared he understood the flying monkey reference.

Twyla slowly walked towards the cage designed for Bruce if he flipped out. This was risky since Fury had yet to be filled in what transpired in Germany between her and the two gods. She just wanted to know who she was. Thor would probably cry and tell her about grand adventures in Asgard if she asked him. That or hug her a lot. Loki seemed to know what person she used to be more than the Thunder God. It had been over a hundred years, now someone who knew about Twyla's missing memories was finally here. Twyla peered into the cage room seeing Loki pace around some more. Twyla went in toying with a stand of hair. Loki didn't turn around but his shoulders tensed a little.

"If you are here for more quips or ideal threats, I have no interest in talking to you anymore. Go plan your little war," said Loki, not turning to face her.

"I was just hoping for a nice conversation," said Twyla, knowing Loki thought her to be Fury. Loki tensed some more but turned around completely expressionless.

"So they send you in a bid to wrestle the truth from me," mused Loki, staring blankly at Twyla.

"No sent me actually and since you're the God of Lies, I doubt I'd get anything from you," said Twyla, sitting on the chair outside the cage. Loki eyed her with caution for a few moments, gears spinning around in his head.

"Then why are you here?" he asked.

"I want to know who I was before the memory lose issue,"

"Would you try and appeal to my love for you? Ask me to be the better man and listen to my brother?"

"No, I don't remember loving you, I don't remember anything about you, I want to know why I want jump off a bloody rainbow bridge for you,"

Loki paced around the cage again, staring at the woman whom he thought lost. The woman he almost gave everything up to be with. It didn't help his psyche that she couldn't remember anything about him. That she stared at him with different eyes. Caution, distrust, hostility. Those dark eyes used to soft with love. Of course, Nótt used to have long flowing black hair, now cut short into a lopsided bob. She used to smile more, a very trusting and loving creature. It seemed hard to believe she would turn killer.

"We used to play together as children," said Loki, not looking at the woman to his side "in truth at first you used follow me around never saying much. The other children… well they avoided me but you… Nótt would silently accompany me everywhere like an extra shadow. At first it was annoying but you were to kind, to caring and very determined to be my friend." Loki lightly smiled remembering the days in which Nótt would follow him around. He told Twyla the day when she truly became his friend.

Loki had always been a quiet child, happy to sit in the corner and read by himself while Thor played some idiot sports game. The other children would never invite him, only Thor occasionally yelling over for his younger brother to join in only to be ignored. That day, Thor was wrestling his friends while Loki sat under the nearest tree reading staring up every so often to roll his eyes at the other children. Twyla strolled into the garden wearing a soft blue dress, her hair in thick braids. Her eyes were wide and innocent, seeming too fragile to play such a rough game. Thor swooped in picking up the younger girl, moving her away from the rough play.

"Nótt, you are too small to play such games, sit here and watch" laughed Thor placing the girl on a nearby bench. She smiled at the older boy communing through expressions rather than words. The little girl saw Loki sitting under a nearby apple tree reading about the history of magic. Silently, she went sat down beside the lonesome prince, making crowns from nearby flowers.

The young girl never bothered Loki while he read happily sitting in the silent company although Loki found it a little unnerving the way she'd just sit there and stare at the sky. They hadn't spoken in the few years they had known each other. Loki would see her trail after him or sit in the library with him reading a book. She was indeed an odd girl. Loki looked over his book seeing Nótt finish her second master piece from blue flowers, the first being made from red. Nótt placed the red one her head, it sagged a little looking like it would fall apart any moment. Nótt shrugged but appeared a little sad at this. Loki stood up going over towards the girl.

"Here," he said, tapping the flower crowns. The flowers perked up, becoming firmer and entwining stronger together. Nótt laughed sounding like a little bell. She held up the blue one to Loki who bent down accepting it. Nótt placed the wreath around the boys head nodding in approval.

"It matches your eyes," she said, barely above a whisper.

"Oh that's lovely Loki, matching your cute eyes," taunted Dagr appearing in the garden.

Nótt shrank behind Loki, hiding away from the much taller and much more brutish boy. Dagr bullied them both, Loki for his interest in magic and Nótt for her docile nature. Whereas Thor had all strength and energy, Dagr had all the cruelty and malicious behaviour of a twelve year old bully.

"Practising magic again, freak?" asked Dagr, picking up Loki's book and flicking through the pages.

"Reading, actually, something you have yet to grasp," said Loki, earning a shove to the ground from the bigger boy. Dagr held the book in front of Loki and then hit him with it.

"Thor isn't here, Daddy isn't here and Mummy isn't here. Nobody else is going to save you, freak," taunted Dagr, hitting Loki with the book again. The older boy then cried out in pain as a stone hit him in the head. Another soon followed. Loki looked up to see Nótt throwing them at the older boy.

"Leave him alone," the younger girl said, standing with her back straight and eyes ablaze with determination. Dagr roared lurching at the girl only for Loki to grab the older boy around the legs. A brief scuffle broke out behind the two as Loki hit Dagr and in return got hit back. Thor soon pulled them apart with the help of a few other children. Nótt ran up hugging Loki around the waist whose nose was bleeding a little, however Dagr's eye looked worse for wear. Nótt stuck her tongue out at the older boy, clinging to Loki who was being pat on the back by Thor.

"I'm sorry Loki," whispered Nótt, placing the fallen blue crown back on his head. Loki smiled down at the doe eyed girl and stroked her dark hair.

"It is alright little one, just try not to get into fights too big for you next time," said Loki.

Loki finished his story staring over at Twyla, her face completely blank processing the tale. The little girl from that day was a far cry from the woman who sat before him now. Hardened by the years on Midgard, a trained killer with no clue on how to truly control her power. Still, Loki's heart gave a small twist whenever he saw her. So many years lost without her, only to find a shadow in her place. Could he bring Nótt back?

"We were friends," said Twyla "we were friends who became lovers." Twyla tilted her head to the side thinking all this through.

"I would have done anything for you, I begged my fath- I begged Odin to release you from the betrothal so we could be together, I sat with you in the darkest hours of the night when you were ill, I used to read to you, we used to run along the fields and sit there for hours just with each other," said Loki. Twyla toyed with a strand of black hair, biting her bottom lip.

"I really wished I remembered," stated Twyla leaning back on the chair sighing deeply. Loki stared at Twyla, for the first time seeing Nótt in the assassin. Twyla looked vulnerable and innocent just like Nótt.

"What will you do with this information?" asked Loki.

"Write a short novel about forbidden love, get an army of fan girls and exploit them for all the money they have," said Twyla earning a confused look from Loki "I want to remember but with that I might betray my friends for you."

"Would it really be that bad? You would know who you were, you would have someone who loved you and you could rule this world with me,"

"Alright Darth Vader calm down, I can't just turn my back on people I care about,"

"You did with me."

Twyla glared over at the raven haired man, wishing there was some way she could reclaim those memories without being ruled by what her and the psycho trying to take over the planet supposedly once shared. Twyla wondered if her departure started pushing Loki towards the madness he lived in now. That her jumping from the Bifrost set in motion the wheels in which Loki would slowly hate his heritage.

"You have no freedom here, you're just another mindless drone waiting for orders," said Loki.

"Now I realise why people have to such a hard time liking you," replied Twyla, starting to the leave the cage room.

"Do you like me?"

Twyla paused at the door feeling Loki's eyes on her. Probably smiling about how he could turn the SHIELD agent to his will, holding those lost memories for ransom.

"I probably did once. Now I don't know. I am not your goddess but I don't think I'm Twyla anymore. I'm… confused," said Twyla, walking out the cage room without looking back. Loki watched then smiled thinking of ways to win back his lost love.

_**Twyla is all confuzzled. She will have a conversation with Thor in the next chapter which doesn't involve him being back flipped. Thanks for reading.**_


	4. What Lies Beneath

What Lies Beneath 

Twyla stared out the Helcarriers window on the bridge, ignoring the agents who wandered by busy with doing actual work apart from the guy playing video games. Everything looked so peaceful outside. The sun shining down onto the blue waters, the ocean glistened below peaceful contrasting the panicked state of SHIELD. The world sat on the edge of an abyss waiting for that final push. Waiting for that small moment when everything could just fall apart. Loki wasn't giving anything up, Bruce and Tony seemed to be having a bromance and Twyla spent a good few hours avoiding Fury. The Director was not only furious that she went behind his back to talk with the enemy but also suspicious of her true identity. Of course Twyla having memory loss about being Nótt didn't stop Fury from placing her on security watch. Twice she found someone watching her from afar; twice she hid in the secret places in the ship. The she just decided to cut to the chase and stand in the bridge.

It all tense among the heroes, Thor hoping to save Loki, Black Widow wanting to save Clint and Phil worrying about Twyla. The cracks were beginning to show.

"Lady Twyla, may I talk with you?" asked Thor. Twyla turned a fraction before nodding at Thor who at down beside her.

"You're not going to hug me again are you?" enquired Twyla, suddenly nervous. Thor laughed shaking his head.

"Midgardians are more reserved than my people, a trait you have adopted," said Thor.

"I show affection, when it's needed,"

"I remember you being the most affectionate of us all. Especially to Loki,"

"Are you making a sex joke?"

Thor laughed playfully hitting Twyla on the arm. Twyla smiled weakly staring at the God of Thunder wondering why Loki hated himself so much. He might appear like a big idiot sometimes but Thor actually had more depth. All he wanted was his brother safe, home and well. Not running around the universe causing trouble for all the worlds too see.

"I never used to see it. You and Loki. You were both so clever hiding your love for each other. I used to think the betrothal had to uphold and be respected, I was outraged after finding out you two were having an affair," said Thor.

"And what do you think now?" asked Twyla.

"That my father made a terrible mistake," answered Thor "you hated your betrothed and no one listened. You wanted to love another and everyone decided for you, I can understand why you fell."

Twyla smiled mournfully, stroking the katanas she forged over a hundred years ago. There only real companions she had over the long years, the only thing that remained the same while everyone else faded away.

"I fell at a price. I lost who I used to be. I had to carve out a new persona, I am going to work for this government forever and I feel like I helped push Loki towards this," said Twyla.

Thor looked at the young woman he used know, how she used to smile when everyone else was sad drawing them into her warmth. She used to delicate and soft. Now her expression was hard and weary, body lean and toned. Nótt was almost completely lost in this new person, a warrior without a home.

"Loki knows his own mind although his decisions are deemed unwise by many. I recall the day you fell, the look on his face and I myself experienced the same pain not long ago," said Thor "he truly did love you and I believe he still does."

"Are you hoping I can save him?"

"Yes,"

"What if I can't?"

"Then my brother is lost."

"No pressure then?"

The two Asgardins chuckled uneasily, staring out the window at the world of Midgard. Phil stood behind the two pretending to go through files, keeping an eye on his best friend. She never really smiled when at SHIELD unless taunting Fury or sharing a joke with him. However, since Thor and Loki appeared, she grinned more often, looking younger and more innocent. The woman who taught him when he first started out as a stumbling newbie, who reached out her hand and helped him along all these years. Loki was wrong when he said Twyla wasn't the same compassionate Goddess. Twyla helped so many even if she gave herself a hard time, the lonely warrior watching the world go by around her, helping in any way possible. Thor left going to watch Loki on the monitors again, brooding over the ways he could appeal to his brother's better nature. Twyla stood up smiling weakly over at Phil.

"Things have really changed haven't they?" said Twyla, putting the katanas on her back.

"We have Gods walking the Earth, aliens trying to attack and an immortal working for the US government. Yes, things have changed. Maybe for the best," said Phil.

"What about for me? I'm a lost Asgardin in love with a nut job," said Twyla, sitting on a chair and twirling around. Phil smiled at Twyla sitting opposite his best friend, the only person he told everything to and trusted the most.

"If I've learnt over anything over the twenty years we've worked together is that you fight for what's right, it doesn't matter if you are Twyla Hartall or Nótt, you decide what is right and ignore anyone who tells you otherwise," said Phil. Twyla smiled leaning over at giving Phil a small kiss on the cheek. They briefly hugged both pulling a face of uncertainty.

"Does this mean I can have my DS back?"

"No,"

"Damn,"

Phil playfully smiled at Twyla, ruffling her short black hair, knowing it annoyed her. The old agent mock glared at him before walking off towards the lab where Tony and Bruce worked. He worried that Twyla would be lost once she remembered everything, that the person he knew would fade away, replaced by a stranger. That's probably how Thor and Loki felt over seeing Twyla. Phil sighed going back to work selfishly hoping Twyla would not regain those memoires. She was the closest thing to a real friend he had.

Twyla walked into the lab seeing the two scientists in the midst of work while Steve Rogers walked outside with a concerned look on his face.

"What did you do to the Captain?" asked Twyla, staring over at Tony. The playboy held up his hands in mock offence.

"I did nothing; I just had a few words with him. How's the boyfriend?" asked Tony, toying around with the computer statistics.

"He's not my boyfriend and think Natasha gone to use her famous skills on him," said Twyla, pointing at the mute video of the cage. Natasha was sitting on the chair outside the cage while Loki smiled on. The dude always seemed to be up to something even in a cage.

Twyla stared at one screen in the corner, noticing it was processing something that appeared to have nothing to do with the Tesseract.

"Are you hacking into the system?" asked Twyla. Tony smiled like a kid caught eating sweets before dinner.

"Yup, gonna tell the big boss?"

"Nah, it'll fun to watch him squirm if you find anything. Phil took my DS, bit bored at the moment,"

"Could go talk to lover boy,"

"Lover boy isn't a level twelve chamander,"

"You're playing Pokémon?"

"Gary Oak is going down."

Bruce shook his head smiling at the childish agent. The others skirted around him, not daring to look him in the eye. They were all very serious in the jobs they were given, apart from that one guy. Working for SHIELD probably means you don't get much fun. Twyla acted relaxed around him, cracking jokes, mocking Fury and generally a nice person. Although, Bruce and Tony had seen the footage where Twyla uses the full extent of her powers. The raw power… nothing of this world could cause such devastation. Bruce wondered if it could match the other guy, then shook away that thought. Twyla acted like she was just a normal person. The ultimate lie one can tell.

"Oh, Hill is giving you a death glare," said Tony, nodding at Fury's right hand agent, staring up at the lab. If looks could kill… Twyla shrugged turning her back on the young agent.

"Probably sharing Fury's annoyance at my true identity, they're like a hive mind," said Twyla.

"You don't think they… you know…"

"Ok, now you've just traumatised me Iron Man,"

Tony threw a blueberry at Twyla who knocked it away laughing, grabbing a pack nearby, opening it and throwing a blueberry back. The two dived around the lab throwing berries at each other while Bruce shook his head continuing with work. Soon the agent and the playboy were hiding behind tables giggling like school children, popping up occasionally to throw a blueberry.

"Oh, I'm out of ammo," cried Tony, taking a piece of paper and waving it like a white flag. Twyla laughed pumping her fist into the air in celebration while Tony shook his head in defeat. Bruce had stopped work ages ago watching the computer for any information popping up. The two joined him, poking one another while they watched the computer at work. Well, until Fury came storming up like a bat out of hell.

"What are you doing, Mr. Stark and why are there blueberries all over the place," demanded Fury, glaring at the trio hustled around the computer.

"We were having fun, a concept lost one you," answered Twyla frowning at the information appearing on the screen.

"Uh...kind of been wondering the same thing about you," replied Tony, scanning through the new things appearing on the screen.

"You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract," Fury said through clenched teeth, a vein in his forehead looking as if it's about to burst.

"We are, the model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile," explained Bruce.

"And you'll get your cube back, no muss, no fuss. What is Phase 2?" said Tony, reading off the screen. Twyla glared over at Fury, not happy with what she saw sure on the computer.

"Phase 2 is SHIELD used the cube to make weapons. Sorry, the computer was moving a little slow for me," said Steve, waltzing into the room, dumping a strange gun on the table staring at Fury. Twyla backed off away from the group, head starting to feel fuzzy as they started arguing, Natasha entering into the fray. White noise built up in Twyla's head as the group picked up in tone. The anger swirled around the room, Twyla panicked staggering out the room with Fury yelling after her. The tattoos were swirling, they moved across the skin like black snakes wanting to break free.

Twyla pushed passed the other agents trying to get to a secure location in case the chains started breaking. They kept twirling in a demented frenzy, while Twyla could only watch as the process continues.

"You have to calm down," panted Twyla to herself, feeling the panic and darkness collide together. She collapsed underneath a walkway in hallway lending into the main area of the bridge. Curling her fists, Twyla rocked backwards and forwards trying to stop the tattoos from breaking. It would mean really bad stuff for the people on board the Helcarrier if they broke. The first time she awoke, the darkness within her totalled a small village in England. She remembered the screaming, the blood and how the shadows filtered into everything, destroying it.

Nothing like that should ever be let out again. The Helcarrier dipped to the side, causing Twyla to come out of her thoughts. People were yelling, running around while Twyla noticed the chains were slowing down.

"Twyla, are you there! Do you copy!?" asked Phil appearing on her Bluetooth piece.

"Yeah, I'm fine, what's happening?" said Twyla.

"We're under attack, people sent by Loki,"

"You need me to deal with a few of them?"

"The ones entering through the main corridor yes, there are more there, a few are scattered through the Helcarrier but about ten heavily armed soldiers are heading towards the bridge,"

"Ok, I'll deal with them and meet up with at the bridge when this is over,"

"See you there then,"

Twyla unsteadily stood up under the stairwell, watching as the whole place tried to stay away from panic. Unsheathing her katanas and watching at the chain tattoos began to pick up more. Twyla drank it all in, the chaos and darkness, absorbing them into herself. Twirling the blades, Twyla stalked down the corridor where the soldiers were coming in a wicked smile playing on her lips.

"Let's have some fun then," she whispered, punching in the door code outside the main corridor for the bridge. Those soldiers really didn't know what was going to hit them.

_**Twyla's getting her grove on, gonna kick some bad guy butt. Thanks for reading.**_


	5. What We've Lost

What We've Lost

The soldiers thundered down the Helcarriers corridors gunning down any agent that went passed. A few workers were sprawled out across the floor bullets having met their skulls. Twyla crouched down beside a young woman engineer who glassy eyes gazed at the ceiling blood splattering the wall. Anger spread through the immortal assassin seeing the pointless killing of an innocent worker. Clutching the katanas tightly, Twyla stood up stalking off towards where the soldiers were. Shadows quickly gathered around her feet, the tattoos spinning at an alarming rate, each chain breaking as her anger grew. The shadows writhed and slithered across the floor, following Twyla to the targets. Dead bodies littered through the halls helped track where the soldiers were. Those people Twyla used to see getting on with their daily work, fixing things and serving the meals, it made it all seem so real. How heroes cannot save everyone and those ordinary people pay the price. Twyla could hear them in the nearby corridor, complaining about having to bypass the codes for the doors.

About seven soldiers were gathered round the doors trying to get through the security system.

"You should knock first, its rude just to barge in," said Twyla, sending the shadows forward slicing them through three soldier's throats. The shadows were now lapping around Twyla like an ocean, writhing and twisting, waiting for more blood. The chain tattoos floated around Twyla, taking away any remorse and humanity she had left. The others quickly began shooting at the SHIELD agent, who swiftly deflected them off her blades. Shadows quickly whipped up slapping the guns away as Twyla jumped through the air, slashing one soldier's throat and stabbing the other right in the chest. The last soldiers desperately tried shooting at the assassin who effortlessly repelled the bullets. Bullets rained to floor, rolling off the walkway. Each soldier slowly backed off as Twyla moved forwards. The shadows wove upwards crashing against the two soldiers who let out surprisingly loud and high pitched screeches. Twyla slashed both the soldiers' throats, blood painting the floor. They slumped down joining their other dead work buddies. The shadows lapped up the blood, a pleasant burning sensation coursed through Twyla's body. She wanted to kill everything, crush those pointless mortal skulls, slash those heroes throats and all the while taking away their delicious spilled blood.

Chaos, screaming and blood. Sounds like a good time. A good time barely happened in a place like SHIELD. All work and no play make everyone so dull. They were already running around panicking hoping a bullet wouldn't greet them. The darkness swirled around the walkway. Keeping this power under control seemed so pointless now. Twyla kicked the soldiers off the walkway after the shadows were done taking their blood. Drunk on the smell of death, Twyla looked seeing her reflection in the glass of the door. She froze, along with the stranger in the reflection. She didn't look like the care-free, jokey Twyla who mocked Fury, exchanged witty remarks with Stark and muck around with Phil. Blood had splattered all over her clothes and face. The tattoos were swirling around in a manic manner. And her eyes were jet black like a starless night. Twyla backed away from the door letting the katanas fall to the floor, clutching her head in an effort to concentrate. The darkness was seeping in again.

Usually Phil could always bring her back from this, whenever Fury went too far and let Twyla embrace the darkness locked away inside her. Phil would always shut it away again. But Twyla was on her own, waiting for the light to come back. Memories flashed through her head in an effort to grasp a part of who she was. In the eighties when Twyla and Phil went to the beach, when Fury got drunk and started complicating her, the day of her first mission as an agent of SHIELD. The tattoos slowly applied themselves back onto Twyla fixing back in place as she rocked backwards and forwards remembering all the good times. She could not let the darkness win. The overwhelming urge to go and kill everything in the base subsided, her thoughts no longer plagued with the idea of bashing in everyone's skull. Slowly, Twyla stood up staring at her reflection. She was back, no longer a murderous psychopath hell bent on destroying anything that got in her path.

"No wonder Loki loved me," muttered Twyla, thinking of the God of Mischief own problems with dark thoughts.

"Agent Hartall do you read!" came Fury's voice over her earpiece.

"Yeah, just dispatched a few soldiers working for Loki," replied Twyla, leaving out the almost losing it part.

"I need you down at the cage, make sure Loki doesn't get out," instructed Fury.

"Copy that," answered Twyla, picking up the blood riddled katanas and leaving the carnage she caused behind. Opening the door, Twyla ran down the corridors, slicing any enemies on the way. She could hear the Hulk above roar as someone shot at him. The engine begins to come to life thanks to Stark and agents scatter around the place trying to care for the injured and respect the dead. The fury grew inside Twyla again but reminded herself to save it for kicking Loki's arse. Reaching the cage room, Twyla gazed up and down the corridor checking if Loki's cronies weren't lurking in the dark. Cautiously walking into the cage room, Twyla frowned spotting Thor inside the glass prison and Loki completely out of sight. Thor shouted pounding against the glass yelling at Twyla to turn around. Too late.

"I will not have you disrupt my plans," said Loki, slashing the spear down across her back. Her tank top ripped open along with the skin and flesh on her back, slicing through like a knife through butter. Twyla jerked forward pain erupting out. Blood cascaded to the floor, the horrifying red waterfall pooling onto the silver floor. Twyla couldn't do anything just fall to the ground helplessly, limbs no longer working as the pain took over. Everything stopped working in an effort to stitch up the wound gaping open at the ceiling. Loki strode over her, avoiding the growing blood pool that seeped over the edge of the walkway, barely glancing down at the girl he claimed to love. Twyla could only see boots from the position she fell in faintly hearing Thor's yells. Everything was really fuzzy as she fought to stay awake, feeling all the power she had attempt to fix the wound. She'd been shot before. And stabbed, clubbed, poisoned, drowned and strangled. But it always healed in record time. The spectre was something altogether new, causing an experience Twyla had never felt before. Pain and mortality.

The scene became clearer as the back wound stopped bleeding and became stitching itself back together. Still Twyla couldn't move, the pain still pinning her to the ground. A new pain of shoes stepped in front of Twyla; she could see Loki's boots beside the control panel to the cage. The shiny black shoes belonged to Phil, Twyla's heart being to quicken.

_No, Phil, don't_ thought Twyla, unable to form words beyond the pain. Then Phil too jerked shuddered falling to the ground, the Loki beside the control panel disappearing and Thor was yelling once again. Twyla screamed inside her head, limbs slowly beginning to twitch as the flesh began to weave back together. Phil slumped down against the walkway ledge, blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth. Twyla heard the clasps on the cage let go and set it down into the world below. She wanted her body to heal faster, seeing Phil lying helplessly holding a really big gun.

Twyla couldn't make out what he was saying to Loki, staring at her for a moment before glaring at the would be king. His lips were moving but Twyla couldn't hear anything as the last bits of healing finished up the job. The gun in Phil's hands went off sending Loki flying backwards. Twyla winced as she moved her arms, pain jetting up them. Everything was working again, even if it was in a painful manner. Twyla crawled through her own blood towards Phil, collapsing beside him. Slowly, she lifted away some of his short, assessing the damage Loki had done.

"Hey there, glad to see you're still with us," said Phil, weakly smile at Twyla, who folded her best friend's jacket over the wound. It was a miracle he was clinging onto the life. A lump grew in Twyla's throat, unable to form words; she shook her head staring at Phil. Tears stung her eyes as Phil weakly reached into his pocket pulling out her DS.

"I don't think – I'll be able to give this to you later," he said smiling despite the pain.

Tears fell down Twyla's blood splattered face, taking the DS and putting it down. She grabbed his hand squeezing it tightly, still shaking her head. Not after all they've been through. It can't end like this.

"We were a great team – you were the best thing about this place," said Phil, the door to the cage opening at Fury entering.

"Please don't leave me," managed Twyla, voice coming out as a squeak, holding onto his hand for dear life. Phil smiled again patting her hand.

"Don't let – others control you – whatever you do – I will always be your friend and love you,"

Fury bent down in front of Phil, calling a medical team to where they were while Twyla held onto Phil's hand, starting to feel numb inside as the tears kept falling, unable to stop them. Her heart clenched, throat closing up and eyes stinging as the tears poured down. His grip started to loosen while talking to Fury, coming to the point where Twyla was still holding on but unable to let go. Phil's hand had become completely slack. The medical team came in trying to pry her off. A strong pair of hands lifted Twyla off the ground. She let herself be pulled around like a doll, to numb to do anything.

"He's gone, Twyla, you have to let go," said Fury in a gentle tone.

Twyla stared into Phil's still open eyes; completely blank staring at the ceiling, glazed over in a glassy manner. Twyla let go of his hand, closing her best friend's eyes. She choked out a sob, letting herself be led to the medical bay while they wheeled Phil off placing him in a body bag. The medical bay smelt sterile, forever having the cold and detached atmosphere for anyone who entered. They poked and prodded while Twyla sat there blankly, circling the agent like a pride of lions closing in on prey. Completely unresponsive the Doctors explained to Twyla that her back would never heal the scar left behind by the sceptre had left behind. It wouldn't cause any problems since the muscles had healed up perfectly. However the surrounding flesh would remain forever marred. It didn't matter anymore. The physical pain had stopped now. The Doctors talked to Fury thinking Twyla couldn't hear them discuss her as they pulled the curtain around the bed blocking out the view. They suspected Twyla had entered a cationic stage of shock, unable to process the loss of someone close to her. Twyla sat on the bed not moving, even when they placed her now clean katanas beside her nor when they cleaned and put new clothes on her. The DS remained untouched, still covered in Phil's blood.

Twyla didn't know how long she sat there in the medical bay, completely blank, thinking over scenarios in which she could have saved him. Ones where she pushed Loki out the open cage chute or managing to stop Phil's bleeding and getting him to the medical bay in time. They kept looping around on in her, not making her feel any better but certainly not letting her fall into complete despair.

"Hey, coma girl," crackled Stark's voice over her slightly damaged earpiece "we know where Loki is. Now you can either sit in there and mope or come get yourself a nice piece of raw God."

Twyla moved a little staring outside the glass doors where the doctors parading up and down, helping the agents who had been injured during the attack. There were far more dead than just Phil. They probably had lost someone to. Someone they used to work closely with, someone they had lunch or a cup of coffee with. There was grief everywhere, not just hers.

"When do we leave?" asked Twyla.

"About five minutes, so get your butt down to the jets," said Stark "and Twyla,"

"Yeah?"

"I am sorry about Phil, he was a good man."

"Thanks Tony."

Twyla pushed off the blanket wrapped around her shoulders, swung her legs over the bed and picked up the katanas. Swinging them onto her shoulders, Twyla exited the medical bay, ignoring the doctor's protests.

"You don't have clearance to leave," said Fury, appearing down the corridor. Twyla kept walking, passing him, pausing for a moment.

"I'm not going to let anything control me anymore," she said.

"If you go with them, don't come back, don't expect us not hound you wherever you go,"

Twyla span on her heel, embedding the sword in the wall just above Fury's ear. The director tried not to look flustered, instead glaring at the immortal agent.

"You are a hypocrite. You let the others wander freely but me? No, I'm the threat; I'm the one who is locked in a service of a government who, if they can't have me, they will kill me, I refuse to be controlled anyone with ideal threats. I will go out there, I will save this world which I have given my too and I will avenge my friend," said Twyla in a deadly quiet voice before yanking out her sword and striding off down the corridor. Fury shook his head, knowing out of all of the avengers; Twyla would be the one they kept tabs on. Maybe he'd order the kill on her a week after this mess was over.

_**So, the big show down with Loki soon. Twyla is not happy with working with SHIELD anymore and is on her own. Thanks for reading. **_


End file.
